The product has been added to your wish list.
The European Formula 1 season of 1975 began with the Spanish Grand Prix. The idyllic Montjuic Park landscape on Barcelona's local mountain provided the backdrop for a difficult and dangerous race track, which had been used by Formula 1 since 1969 already. However, the sloppily installed crash barriers for the race weekend led to a boycott by most of the drivers in Friday's practice session. On Saturday morning, the mechanics of most teams took up their tools themselves to take over the work of the overwhelmed organisers! But safety was still not guaranteed, so the drivers threatened to boycott both qualifying and the race on Sunday.
The situation escalated when the Spanish Franco regime's military threatened to confiscate all the teams' equipment if they went ahead with the boycott. Emerson Fittipaldi remained steadfast, driving slowly around the circuit and missing out on qualifying. The drivers lined up at the start with a queasy feeling, and the inevitable happened: while in the lead, the rear wing of Rolf Stommelen's Embassy Hill broke on lap 26. The car rolled over the crash barriers, killing a marshal, two photographers and a spectator. Jochen Mass narrowly escaped the chaos and was declared the winner when the race was stopped. As a result, he only received half points for his only Grand Prix victory.